Hello Erbrock
Sorry for the lack of responses - I just saw this post now. The
Antares has a very active and knowledgable owners group, though small due to the small number of Antares out there. While there are a small number of 44GS you are probably aware that the previous model (44i) is nearly identical except for the length of the hardtop and having a foldable versus molded
bowsprit.
My wife and I have owned our 44i for about a year and have spent about 6 months aboard cruising the US
east coast and
Bahamas.
We absolutely love the layout of the
boat. The
galley down arrangement works well. It is easy for a person in the
galley to carry on a conversation with a person in the salon due to the open area above/behind the salon settee. Also, the low, centered position of the galley makes for the least motion in a seaway. There are two salon layouts differing in what is in the aft starboard portion of the salon - one has a forward facing settee and one has an L-shaped counter/wet bar. We have the latter and have friends with the former. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. In either case, other than I know some people object to the galley being down, I don't know what the objection to the salon layout would be. It is comfortable, provides good outside visibility, is relatively open and provides good
communications with the space in the two hulls. We love it.
The
cockpit arrangement was a huge selling point for us. The first time you are at sea in gale force winds and you notice how comfortable you are at the
helm you will be sold! With just the first section of the strataglass enclosure in place on the sides all
wind, rain and spray is completely blocked from the
helm. I wouldn't dream of trading our cockpit/helm layout for what I see on other cats.
I'm off the
boat for a few weeks so paying more attention to CF than usual. I'd be happy to PM if you have additional questions.